


Foreshadow

by orphan_account



Series: Fill the Void [4]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Minecraft YDYD, Ryan being weird and cryptic, idk it gets pretty obscure at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:42:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23185705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: When Ryan showed Jeremy his longbow, Jeremy couldn't foresee the future that would befall them because of it.
Relationships: Jeremy Dooley/Ryan Haywood
Series: Fill the Void [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1663750
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	Foreshadow

When Ryan revealed the bow that he had built, Jeremy didn’t think it’d be the beginning of the end. But at that time, they were starting anew in a small settlement with several others.

Everyone felt uneasy in those days. They were new to each other and to the area, but after being chased out of the woods, the mountains, and the seas by hordes of unholy creatures, they all came together to try and live together. So a farm was found, a house was built, and there was more or less an uneasy truce between the people who lived here.

Jeremy and Ryan had found each other on the road. Their shared experiences had brought them together and they were one of the pairs of the main group. Others were Jack and Geoff, Michael and Gavin, and Alfredo and Trevor. There was a woman named Lindsay and she was fairly friendly with everyone. Until she fell prey to a zombie one fateful night. One less member in their camp.

With the sense of danger everywhere, it was hard to forget about death. Not when Lindsay had been buried not too far from their house. They all tried to do their best to carry on, but tension began to creep in.

The longbow was nearly as tall as Ryan was. Standing at an impressive six feet, the longbow was Ryan’s pride and joy and Jeremy could see why. Imagine pegging an enemy hundreds of feet away. It would certainly help them if they were to all train up together in these arms. And maybe it would get them out of this desolate, dying part of the world and to a safe place.

Ryan hefted it, arms dressed in his bracers. “First find your target,” he said. “That sheep over there.”

Jeremy looked down the grassy plains and saw a lone sheep curled up on the grass there. Ryan positioned his feet accordingly, slightly spread for balance. He fit the arrow against the string and pulled it back as far as he could. Then he raised the tip of the arrow, angling it high before loosing it. The arrow sailed up high into the air, so high that Jeremy could hardly track it. They knew it found its mark when they heard the telltale scream of the sheep as it had been struck.

“It lands with enough force to strike a killing blow,” Ryan said, looking at Jeremy. The sheep continued to wail in the distance. “But if it doesn’t, the arrows strike deep enough to mortally wound them, keep them pinned until you can come down to them.” He handed the bow to Jeremy. “If this is our one chance, we should take it.”

He didn’t know what Ryan meant, but watched him stalk out onto the grassy plain and end the sheep’s suffering. While he loved Ryan more than anything—they had been through more than Jeremy would like to say—there were also times when he feared him greatly. The things he knew. The things he could do and build. They were great, but Jeremy never knew the full story of how Ryan knew so much.

Jeremy didn’t know if he could call Ryan cruel, but maybe he was. There were things he would say that sort of had the edge of being demeaning. Slightly mean to those he was speaking to. Was he intentionally trying to sew discord into their group? Into the others that made life possible here?

“Ryan,” Jeremy said and he hated feeling _afraid_ of Ryan, but that as how he felt if he was being honest. “What are you doing?”

“Doing what’s best for us,” Ryan said. “Don’t worry. I have a plan.”

He had a plan but wouldn’t tell Jeremy about it. He’d do things, but never had a reason as to why, and Jeremy was fearful of this all.

“Well, don’t be mean about it,” Jeremy said. “That’s all I ask.”

Ryan held up his hands and conceded. “Whatever you wish.”

With every spare moment he had, Ryan was found practicing his aim with the long bow. The sound the arrow would make when it met its mark made Jeremy flinch. It was a powerful long distance weapon, he had to admit. But what was the purpose when their lives, for the most part, were rather peaceful?

“Your beau is acting rather odd now isn’t he?” Gavin said to him one day.

Jeremy turned to say, “He’s not—“ but stopped himself. He was about to say Ryan wasn’t his beau. It was complicated with how he felt towards him now. They still slept beside each other. Carried on day to day as if nothing was wrong. As if the tension Ryan created between the others was settling between the two of them at night and festered.

“I don’t know about him,” Jeremy settled on.

“What do you mean about that?”

“I mean … he’s acting more strangely now. Like something bad is going to happen and only he knows about it.”

Gavin could see that Jeremy was troubled and offered to take his troubles off his mind. “Why don’t you come out with Michael and me? We’re going down to the river and found a tree fort we thought was worth it to explore.”

Jeremy nodded. It might be of use to him to get out of the area for a little while. Remember what the existing world was like beyond their little community. He told Ryan where he would be going and how gone he’d likely be. “You shouldn’t have to worry,” he said. “The area’s pretty safe by the water.”

“I don’t,” Ryan said. “By the river you said?”

“Yeah, across the way. There’s a tree fort there that Gavin and Michael plan on exploring.”

Ryan nodded and set his hand heavily upon Jeremy’s shoulder, squeezed firmly. “Have fun,” he said and he sounded like the old Ryan. As Jeremy had met him and came to know him. And it set his teeth on edge.

He left with Gavin and Michael, and it was nice to get out into the woods, leave behind the commune and remember what everything was like beyond its walls. He genuinely liked Gavin and Michael. They supported each other through thick and thin and tried to make it better for everyone else with games and laughter. They were good together.

They crossed the river at its narrowest point and walked down to the base of a thick jungle tree. There it was up in its branches. A fort with a rickety rope ladder leading up into it.

“Maybe our next home should be in a tree,” Gavin said, getting a boost from Michael to climb upwards.

“It would certainly be safer,” Jeremy said. He watched the two of them climb up into the tree as he stepped back closer to the water’s edge.

He could see the fort poking through the leaves, the wood well aged but holding firm against the test of time. He could see Michael and Gavin moving through the windows and soon enough Gavin came up through the crown of the tree.

“You would not believe this, Jeremy,” he said. “There’s so much room up here. We should just move out here. And look! There’s a bridge! I bet there’s another section here.” He came up further and began to walk across a hidden walkway connecting two trees.

“We should just move here,” Michael said, leaning out of one window. “There’s definitely room to grow.”

Jeremy took a further step back closer to the edge of the river. He turned to look out over the water. It was a lovely place to behold. Close enough to the water. River fish would be plenty. Plus dark creatures often avoided bodies of water. It might be safer than where they are now.

He held his hand up over his eyes to shield them from the sun. He could just about make out the sight of someone standing across the river. There was the blood red of the kilt that he could faintly make out. And then came the faint whistling of an arrow cutting its way through the wind.


End file.
